Competitions

Sunday, 27 March 2016

CULT CINEMA: AN ARROW VIDEO COMPANION

Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion, 28th March 2016

Limited Edition Hardback Book, 246 pages

Arrow Video is one of the foremost distributors of cult cinema on DVD and Blu-ray. From the classic to the obscure, the Arrow Video collection encompasses all styles and genres: horror films and Westerns, science fiction and sex comedies, yakuza epics and neo-noirs, the subversive, the transgressive and the unclassifiable. This hardback volume brings together 25 of the world's leading genre experts and critics to guide you through the multi-faceted beast that is cult cinema.

Exploring the stars, the filmmakers and the trends, Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion approaches its subject from five angles. Each section is devoted to a different facet of cult filmmaking - the opening chapter features seven essays devoted to key cult movies, and is followed by those on directors, actors, genres (and sub-genres), and finally distribution, which examines how different methods of seeing a film, from travelling shows to DVDs, has allowed cult films and their audiences to flourish.

The aim is not to provide a definitive guide to cult cinema but rather, as the subtitle proclaims, a companion. Cult movies means many things to many people - Ben Wheatley's introduction touches on the manner in which he discovered the underbelly of cinema, but it won't be shared by everyone, of course - and everyone will have their own favorites.

Consider this book as a look at cult cinema through the lens of Arrow Video, a pretty broad view: Tinto Brass, Joe Dante, science fiction, super 8, Suzuki Seijun, Boris Karloff, Battle Royale, horror all-nighters, video nasties and much more besides. Something familiar, something fresh, something that might just introduce you to a whole new world of filmmaking and its enthusiastic fandom.